2022 Halloween Froyo Spirit Shop Award Winner Announced

Source: IG @funkyfrozenkvadrat

Fro-yo girl here. Happy Froyo Halloween! Every Halloween, I keep my eyes open for froyo shops with Halloween spirit. I’ve been choosing the one with the most spirit since 2014. The winner could be a shop of any size in any countries. I consider the shop décor, special flavors, costume parties and events, special Halloween toppings, and more. 

I have to say that I saw less Halloween froyo shop spirit this year. A couple of froyo shops that I visited recently didn’t have Halloween decorations or any acknowledgement of Halloween. Most froyo shops that are celebrating seem to be doing so with costume contests and other types of contests. 

This year’s winner of the Halloween Froyo Shop Spirit Award is… Funky Frozen Yogurt of Norway. They created a new froyo flavor, Orange & Chili, for Halloween and they had a week long generous Halloween promo. Guests in costume get 50% off from 10/24 – 10/31. I noticed they had Halloween decorations at their shops too.

Last year, Menchie’s won for the fourth time. In 2021, Menchie’s had a new Halloween Spooktacular froyo spoon (Menchie dressed as Dracula), an Addams Family 2 contest and collab for 20% off your first Menchie’s DoorDash order, and they brought back Harvest Pumpkin froyo. This year they brought back Harvest Pumpkin froyo but that was the only nod to Halloween that I noticed. 

Here’s the list of previous Halloween Froyo Spirit winners

2021: Menchie’s

2020: Pinkberry (Japan)

2019: Menchie’s

2018: Smile Yogurt (Hong Kong)

2017: Yogurty’s (Canada)

2016: Menchie’s

2015: Wakaberry (South Africa)

2014: 16 Handles

2013: Menchie’s

You can find the most comprehensive list of froyo shop Halloween specials and events at https://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/news/halloween-2022-froyo-specials/

For over 2,300 Halloween froyo images, visit IFYA’s Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/froyogirl/halloween-froyo-froyo-shop-decorations/

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Froyo in Rosemead, California

Sweet Lab

Fro-yo girl here. Rosemead is a smaller city in west San Gabriel Valley (Los Angeles County) with a population of 54,058. The population is predominantly Asian (60%).

Froyo hasn’t had much of a presence in Rosemead, California. It’s never been home to any large froyo chain though Yogurtland, Menchie's, and others can be found nearby. I’ve only had froyo in Rosemead, California once – at Sweet Lab, 8526 Valley Blvd Ste 112. They made it fresh with liquid nitrogen and added the scoops to a bubble waffle. Sweet Lab opened in 2016 and closed in 2021 or 2022. It seems like they stopped offering froyo as a base and the only froyo left on the menu is Beijing yogurt ice cream.

Other froyo shops that closed:

• Very Berry, 188 W Valley Blvd, was a counter-serve froyo shop that also served shaved ice. It was open from 2007-2008.
• Yo Love, 8150 Garvey Ave Ste 113A was a self-serve froyo that charged 33 cents an ounce and was open from 2010-2011.

Non-froyo shops in Rosemead like Jamba Juice and Cold Stone Creamery likely offered froyo at some point. Perhaps other places like Tapioca Express did as well. But I don't think there are any places left to get froyo in Rosemead. Sad!

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Best Yogurt Cake at Yu Cake

Fro-yo girl here. Back in 2018, I reviewed the blueberry yogurt cake from Paris Baguette. Their blueberry yogurt cake featured three layers of vanilla sponge cake and three layers of blueberry yogurt cream. The cake was frosted and topped with fresh berries. I liked the lightness but I could not taste the yogurt. This was true for Tous Les Jours’ yogurt cake as well.

Well, Yu Cake’s blueberry yogurt cake roll actually tastes like yogurt! And it’s beautiful.

Yogurt blueberry cake roll ($8.75): The best yogurt cake ever! The center is a blueberry flavored whipped cream that actually is tangy and tastes like blueberry yogurt! You can see blueberry bits. But it’s also creamy and rich. It’s surrounded by whipped cream, a thin layer of light sponge cake (interesting purple color, tasted like plain cake), and topped with a creamy, richer buttercream, pistachios, and a dried fig. Loved the lightness, creaminess and the fact that it wasn’t too sweet. They had another flavor too, strawberry. The sign said the yogurt cake rolls were new.

I tried the strawberry yogurt cake roll and it's also very good. It's tangy and tastes like yogurt. The yogurt part has the consistency of whipped cream. 

They also have yogurt icebox cakes, yogurt mille crepe cakes, and yogurt cake jars!

They also have yogurt drinks. The yogurt was too mild for me (not sour or tangy like usual plain yogurt) and the drink was too thick (not refreshing).

Yu Cake has locations in Rosemead, City of Industry, and San Gabriel, CA.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

October 20, Blogiversary Number 14

Amazon Go, Whittier

Fro-yo girl here. I’m celebrating blogiversary #14 today, October 20, 2022 by reflecting on the previous year. Self-serve froyo is back and most people no longer wear masks indoors. A few froyo shops still offer hand sanitizer and gloves. There have been a few froyo shop openings and closings in California, but nothing in Los Angeles – unless you count non-froyo shops like Israel’s Anita Gelato in Tarzana and Amazon Go, the new convenience store in Whittier that serves Pinkberry. Also, iCream has installed five Pinkberry vending machines in Southern California with a sixth location just announced.

Yogurtland in downtown Burbank closed and so did Menchie’s in South Pasadena. It’s still easy for me to get to multiple Yogurtland locations but harder to get to Pinkberry and Menchie’s now. More new flavors and new froyo spoons have come out compared to 2020 – 2021.

Noosa finally introduced their frozen yogurt gelato. I first heard about it five years ago. Well, their yogurt is better than their frozen yogurt gelato. The latter is more like gelato than yogurt.

I’ve been to one froyo shop grand opening, Golden Spoon in Valencia, but they didn’t seem to be celebrating. Maybe it was the soft opening?

Prices are up at froyo shops – hovering in the mid to high $0.60 cent range at self-serve shops.

The first thick cut, bite-size, frozen yogurt cube shop opened in the US – in Seattle, Washington. The shop is called YoYo & CoCo. The trend started in mainland China and spread to Australia and Asia. I wonder if yogurt cube shops will open in California.

Many of the Yomie’s purple rice yogurt shops have changed names. I’ve had hard/old purple rice a few times recently, so I’m hesitant to get more purple rice yogurt.

Several lower sugar Asian bakeries have opened. Yu Cake is the best one that I’ve tried. They have locations in San Gabriel, Rosemead, and City of Industry. My favorite cake is the yogurt cake roll. The cake has a filling of yogurt flavored whipped cream that’s tangy and tastes like yogurt. So good! Pretty too! They even have yogurt flavored cake in other forms: box cake, jar cake, and mille crepe cake.

Acai places keep opening. I went to a couple and the base doesn't have much flavor as froyo. The toppings are good though. The fruit is often fresher than the fruit at froyo shops and they have more nut butters, seeds, and healthier toppings.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Boba Ice Cream Bars Review: I-MEI Ceylon Milk Tea Boba Ice Bar

Fro-yo girl here. It’s been awhile since I had a boba ice cream bar. The I-MEI Ceylon Milk Tea Boba Ice Bars seem to be fairly new. I spotted them at 168 Market and 99 Ranch Market in San Gabriel, California. One box contains four individually wrapped bars weighing 80g each. 99 Ranch was selling the box of I-MEI Ceylon Milk Tea Boba Ice Bars for $7.99, regular price. I-MEI is a Taiwanese brand and the ice bars are a product of Taiwan.

I-Mei Ceylon Milk Tea Ice Bar: The ice bar is smaller. It had lots of boba. I encountered a few boba in every bite. The tapioca balls were very sweet, soft, and chewy. The bar was creamy and milky with a strong tea flavor. The bar seemed super sweet and the balls were even sweeter. One bar is 140 calories with 5g total fat, 22g total carbs, 15g total sugars, and 1g protein.

I think I’m getting tired of boba ice cream bars because they’re too sweet. I wouldn't order a boba milk tea at regular sweetness either.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

National (US) Frozen Yogurt Shop Owner Survey Now Open, Take Survey & Get the Results

Fro-yo girl here. The National Frozen Yogurt Shop Owner Survey, sponsored by the International Frozen Yogurt Association, is now open.

Who Should Take the Survey

Anyone who owns a frozen yogurt shop or a business that serves frozen yogurt in the US is encouraged to participate. Owners who take the survey will be able to sign up to receive the survey results while taking the survey. The results will help froyo shop owners better understand how their shop compares to other shops. This year’s results will also be compared to last year’s results. The results should be available in November.

The National Frozen Yogurt Shop Owner Survey asks shop owners about shop performance, satisfaction with suppliers, operational practices, management practices, outlook, profitability, etc. 

The anonymous online survey takes about 7 minutes to complete and can be found at https://tinyurl.com/2022froyoowner

The survey will remain open from now till midnight PST on November 6, 2022.

When you take the survey and provide your email address, your email address will only be used to send you the results. Your email address will not be shared with others and the IFYA will only contact you once, to share the results.

How to See the Results Without Taking the Survey

Suppliers and others who are interested in the results but do not own a frozen yogurt store or are not in the US can receive the survey results by sharing IFYA’s pinned Facebook (@froyoassociation) post about the survey, reposting the Instagram post about the survey (@froyossociation) or retweeting the pinned survey tweet (@froyogirl).

Only foodservice business owners who participate in the current National Frozen Yogurt Shop Owner Survey, those who share the survey URL, and IFYA advisory board members will have free access to the full results of the shop owner survey. IFYA members will have free access to a limited set of results.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at internationalfrozenyogurt.com

. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Papa Cristo’s Handmade Frozen Greek Yogurt Bars

Fro-yo girl here. I visited Papa Cristo’s a few years ago when they had homemade Greek yogurt but no froyo. They recently started making Greek froyo popsicles in flavors such as Sour Cherry, Fig Jam, Coconut, Strawberry/Pistachio, and Pecan. The popsicles are handmade. They’re $4.99 each.

The sticker on the popsicle says Nieves Xochi Oax but the ingredients say it’s made with Greek yogurt. The fruit is not blended thorough out the bar but they use chopped fruit pieces. 

Pistachio froyo paleta: This was a big, thick popsicle/paleta. Pale green, it had pistachios towards the bottom. The texture was hard and icy but the yogurt added some creaminess. It was pretty sweet and not tangy. The pistachio flavor was pretty weak. I didn’t like it and didn’t actually finish it.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

New Pressed Freeze Flavor, Ube

 

Fro-yo girl here. Pressed has been very busy this year, introducing lots of new Freeze flavors. The newest Freeze flavor is Ube. It’s plant-based and made with ube, coconut cream, almonds, agave, tapioca, etc.

Ube Freeze: It was sweet and creamy, but also too soft. It seemed to melt right away and didn’t seem very cold. The texture was interesting too, with bits of tapioca. It was like having a lightly sweet cold pudding; the flavors of the coconut and ube were complementary. Recommended toppings: blueberries, almond butter, granola.

Ube has been a pretty popular froyo flavor, with Ube froyo offered by Yogurtland, Red Mango Philippines, Pinkberry Philippines, Yoh Froz (Philippines), Yoga-urt, Rosy Yogurt, etc. As you can see, it’s particularly popular in the Philippines.

Vanilla Freeze is still my favorite.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

World Smile Day, New Spoon, and New Flavor at Menchie’s

Fro-yo girl here. Menchie’s celebrated World Smile Day on October 7 with double points when you scanned your Menchie’s app. They also brought back Harvest Pumpkin froyo and introduced a new flavor, Peanut Butter Cookie froyo.

Peanut Butter Cookie froyo: I was excited since I love peanut butter cookies. Menchie’s says, “This sweet NEW flavor is rich, creamy, and made with real peanut butter cookies! Swirl this froyo in your cup guilt free because it’s made with no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, and no high-fructose corn syrup!” Peanut Butter Cookies froyo is lowfat. I didn’t see the cookie bits but I was able to compare Peanut Butter Cookies froyo with Menchie’s Creamy Peanut Butter froyo. Peanut Butter Cookies froyo is sweeter and the pb flavor isn’t as strong as Menchie’s Creamy Peanut Butter froyo. Both are good! Recommended toppings: peanut butter sauce, Nutter Butter, Butterfinger, peanuts, Peanut M&Ms, Reese’s Pieces. Love peanut butter!

Back in 2018, Menchie’s introduced Peanut butter cookie made with Nutter Butter cookie pieces froyo. This time there is no mention of Nutter Butter, so I guess it’s different.

Also, there’s a NEW SPOON. The collectible Mellow spoon is a light grey color. Mellow is holding a book. On the spoon handle, it says Hooked on Books & Froyo. On the back of the spoon, you can see Mellow’s backside. The spoon is available for a limited time only and same with the featured froyo flavors.

FYI, Harvest Pumpkin froyo is made with real pumpkin, cinnamon, and ginger.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

National Spoon Day 2022 Promo at Yogurtland, New Giant Turquoise Spoons!

Fro-yo girl here. Happy National Spoon Day, October 7! More importantly, Yogurtland recognizes National Spoon Day! I believe this is the third such celebration at Yogurtland. In 2020, they gave out giant pink and green Yogurtland spoons. Last year, the giant spoon was raspberry in color. This year, the limited edition giant spoon is turquoise.

Today, Yogurtland customers get a free giant turquoise Yogurtland spoon with a a minimum $10 in-store transaction (while supplies last). Limit one spoon per transaction. Third party delivery and online orders are excluded.

The giant spoon says Yogurtland on the front of the spoon (on the handle) and nothing on the back. The spoon is 12 inches long.

I ran into some serious spoon collectors at Yogurtland this morning. Talking to them was heartwarming! Ten dollars is a lot of froyo and I saw a couple of groups trying to reach the $10 mark.

Interestingly, Pumpkin Pie froyo has run out in the area and the distributor doesn’t have any more.

I tried to learn more about National Spoon Day, including its origins, but I didn't find much. National Spoon Day is a mystery!

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Clio Greek Yogurt Bars Review

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve seen Clio Bars around (e.g., in the refrigerator at Whole Foods near the yogurt) and wondered about them since they’re made with Greek yogurt. They’re portable, individually wrapped, high protein snacks made with Greek yogurt. Clio Bars are kosher, gluten-free, and contain live and active cultures. Even the granola & yogurt parfait bars are gluten-free.

The Original and Less Sugar Clio bars feature a chocolatey coating, with one exception, the Less Sugar Yogurt Coated Mixed Berry Greek Yogurt Bars. The Granola & Greek Yogurt Parfait Bars feature an almond butter or yogurt coating. The Original Clio Bars are described as cheesecake like. Original Clio Bars retail for $1.49/bar, Les Sugar Clio Bars retail for $1.99/bar, and Granola & Yogurt Parfait Bars retail for $2.49/bar.

Vanilla Greek Yogurt Bar: It’s thick and looks like a small candy bar. The chocolate coating didn’t have much flavor but the vanilla yogurt part was firm, creamy, and tangy. It tasted more like yogurt than cheesecake but I like that it tasted like yogurt. One 1.76 oz bar was 140 calories, 6g total fat, 14g total carbs, 11g total sugars, and 9g protein.

Strawberry Greek Yogurt Bar: The strawberry yogurt was pretty tangy but the chocolate coating had little flavor. There was a slightly bitter aftertaste.

Vanilla Almond Granola and Yogurt Parfait Bar: This bar was very sweet with the sweet granola with dried cranberries. The granola was chewy. The yogurt in the center was still tangy. The almond butter coating had little flavor. One 1.94 oz bar was 200 calories, 8g total fat, 22g total carbs, 16g total sugars, and 10g protein.

Strawberry Granola & Yogurt Parfait Bar: This bar was too sweet with the sweet coating, sweet granola, and the dried cranberries. The strawberry yogurt part added a little tang.

These were nice, satisfying snacks but the granola made the parfait bars too sweet. I’d like to try the Less Sugar Clio Bars line next.

Available flavors:

• Original Clio Bars: Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, Blueberry, Peanut Butter
• Less Sugar Clio Bars: Peach, Coconut, Mixed Berry, Acai
• Granola & Greek Yogurt Parfait bars: Strawberry, Vanilla

Tip: They're good frozen!

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

A Visit to the New Yogurt Spot in Walnut Creek

Fro-yo girl here. I recently had a chance to visit a new froyo shop. Yogurt Spot opened in Rossmoor Town Center in Walnut Creek, CA this summer. It’s more than a froyo shop; it’s a frozen dessert emporium. They offer 10 flavors of counter-serve soft serve froyo (from Sugar Creek/ Honey Hill Farms), a case of gelato, floats, and shaved ice.

The toppings selection is smaller than usual but not bad. They only had one kind of fresh fruit, strawberries. Other toppings included candies, cookies, nuts, marshmallows, cookie dough, popping boba, mochi, sprinkles, sauces, and cheesecake bites. They didn’t have granola or chocolate shell.

Kiddie size, Italian tart

Froyo prices include toppings.

Kiddie ($5.50)/ Small ($7.50)/ Medium ($8.50)/ Large ($10)

The kiddie portion was the right size. Small looked pretty big. They were generous with the froyo and toppings. And the Italian tart had good texture and a nice tang.

The décor was simple but tasteful: a huge counter, warm orangeish paint, lots of lights, attractive hand written menu boards. They have an outdoor patio with seating. I was pleased by the cleanliness of the shop and the friendly service. Samples were offered.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

YOGURT SPOT: 19808 Tice Valley Blvd, Ste B, Walnut Creek, CA 94595

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.